Federal Manager's Daily Report

The CIO Council has issued a report on the state of federal IT and directions for the future. According to the council, the key takeaways are:

“The rapid transformation of how Americans interact with businesses, news, entertainment, and other services has radically changed their expectations of how they interact with government. The importance of changing how government views and manages information and information technology cannot be understated. No longer can federal IT be seen as merely a back-office function and the management of government information relegated to a lower-level priority. Federal agencies must adapt to the modern, digital world.

“The changes required to move to a digital government will significantly impact every federal agency and its employees. Such a transformation will require changes to both culture and policy. We’re at a crossroads – opportunities abound, but so do challenges and outside threats. Our IT infrastructure supports all aspects of government operations. How we respond to these challenges and embrace these opportunities will determine the effectiveness of our government for years to come.

“The path to a successful transformation is possible through better internal collaboration, improvements to human resources and procurement operations, a shift away from legacy systems, and a continued push towards transparency and open data. CIOs must think beyond their traditional roles and responsibilities, about their place in the broader federal IT ecosystem.”